Before its civil war began in 2011, Syria had a population of 23 million people.  In the ensuing four years, 11 million Syrians have died or fled their homes, and nearly four million of Syria’s citizens fled the country altogether, many now seeking refuge in Europe.  11 million people. But […]

The college football season kicked off this past weekend, beginning the daily sports-talk radio and water-cooler discussions about which teams should be ranked in the top 20 and where those teams should be ranked. College football is, happily, a part of American culture, both past and present.  However, tragically, the […]

Veteran Tallahassee lobbyists had seen nothing like it. Big Tobacco hired 100 lobbyists, including some of the most influential lobbyists in the State of Florida, attempt to pass a bill that would absolve Big Tobacco of punitive damages liability for its lies and deceit, intentional and outrageous conduct that took […]

Should we be disturbed that the CEO of the second leading cigarette maker in America hopes for a return to Big Tobacco’s “old days?” Susan Cameron, CEO of Reynolds American – parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company – is obviously in a celebratory mood given her stewardship over Reynolds’ […]

We do not sue them. They will run up millions in costs for just one lawsuit, regardless of the actual damages . They will conduct a scorched earth defense and try to simply wait until the plaintiff dies. They are a “no holds barred” defendant and are reported to be […]

“We are reformed and vow never to be evil, devious, conspiratorial, deceitful, designing, tricky, conniving, underhanded or murderous ever again!” So goes the paraphrased prostrations of lawyer Jeff Furr, representing one of the most diabolical industries that has ever existed in America – Big Tobacco. Mr. Furr was trying to […]

When Big Tobacco was manufacturing cigarettes, what did they know and when did they know it? Their own documents are very revealing of an industry that dealt in high profits, fueled by deceit, distortion, misrepresentation and invention. The cigarette industry is one in which their own documents illustrate a collection […]

An Alachua County jury awarded $3,375,000 against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA, Inc. for the wrongful death of John Huish, who died of lung cancer after 46 years of smoking Lucky Strike, Camel and Marlboro cigarettes.  The verdict includes $3,000,000 in punitive damages. David J. Sales, James […]

Is the federal government finally getting tough on tobacco? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced it has rejected the approval of four proposed tobacco products while authorizing the marketing of two new ones.

In Ontario, Canada, Big Tobacco is currently under attack. Ontario claims that, among other things, Big Tobacco misrepresented the dangers of smoking and the addictiveness of nicotine to the public for decades. Ontario also claims that Big Tobacco caused or contributed to an additional $50 billion in health care costs. […]